Best Outdoor Fire Pits of 2022

Forget roughing it in the great outdoors this winter. We've picked the best backyard wood burning and gas burning fire pits that are easy to install and clean.

Author:
Holly Hanchey
Publish date:
Feb 3, 2022 9:41 AM EST

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Forget roughing it in the great outdoors this winter. We've picked the best backyard wood burning and gas burning fire pits that are easy to install and clean.

There really is something special about sitting outside by an open fire, telling stories, drinking hot chocolate, roasting marshmallows, or cooking hot dogs. Almost everyone has a great memory of time spent with loved ones around a campfire.

Campfires are indeed magical places, but building one from scratch is difficult, tending it is a pain, and most of the time, they are illegal and dangerous to build in backyards, beaches, or at campsites.

That’s where fire pits come in — they’re contained, safe, easy to start, easy to turn off, and best of all, easy to clean up. There are four kinds of fire pits: wood burning, propane gas burning, gel fuel burning, and natural gas. For the sake of this article, we’re going to discuss only the first two, as they are the most popular and most portable. Gel fuel fire pits are difficult to find, and natural gas fire pits need to be built into the structure of your backyard, either as part of a patio hardscape or pool deck.

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Best Wood Burning Fire Pits

Wood burning fire pits are the most like an actual campfire, because like a campfire, they burn wood. They smell like a fire, they give off heat like a fire, and they roast marshmallows like a campfire. In addition, they are hard to maintain and should be attended to at all times, and you’ll have to add wood to keep it going — although that means it can theoretically go on forever, unlike a propane fire pit. Experts recommend cooking over a wood burning fire pit rather than a propane one, because gas and other chemicals in the propane fire pit can change the taste of your food.

Before buying or using a wood burning fire pit, check with your local laws and regulations about open flames. In rural areas or parts of the country that are prone to wildfires, there may be limitations on where and when you can use a wood burning fire pit.

Prettiest

Tiki Tiki 25 inch Black Patio Fire Pit ($395; amazon.com and homedepot.com)

Made from a combination of heat-treated stainless and powder coated steel, this fire pit is made to maintain its sleek design and beautiful finish. With a heat radius of four feet, it’s plenty big enough to gather around with friends and family. There’s a patent-pending airflow system that keeps smoke to a minimum, and the ash pan keeps mess down as well. Reviewers love the ease of setup, and at only 45 pounds, it’s fairly easy for two people to move when it’s cooled off.

You can use regular firewood, or get one of the manufacturer’s special wood packs and start your fire with ease, with a solid 30 minute burn. It can be found on Amazon and HomeDepot.com for $395.

Best Under $200

Sunnydaze Black Cross Weave Round Steel Wood Burning Fire Pit ($199; amazon.com and homedepot.com)

Sure, it’s just under the $200 cut off, but with the beautifully designed crossweave pattern and the included all-weather cover, fire pit tool, wood grate, and spark screen, it’s worth mentioning here. You get a lot of heat for the money — the large 31 inch diameter bowl throws off plenty of heat for an average sized patio, and assembly is easy. Like most wood-burning pits, it’s not recommended for wooden decks unless you use a fire-proof pad, but wherever it ends up, this beauty will be the envy of the neighborhood.

The Sunnydaze wood burning fire pit can be found on Amazon and HomeDepot.com for $199.

Expensive But Worth It

Solo Stove Yukon with Stand Fire Pit Combo Bundle ($479.99, originally $559.99; amazon.com)

One of the biggest complaints about sitting around an open fire is the lingering smell of smoke in hair and clothing. Solo Stove has solved that problem with the Yukon Stainless Steel Wood Burning Fire Pit. It’s a little industrial looking, and pricey at $479.99, but it creates almost no smoke thanks to their signature air flow design, which also creates very little ash to clean up. Reviewers love the quality of the flame and the heat radius. It’s also backed by a lifetime warranty from the manufacturer.